How bad were things getting with the Cubs?We were cursing about curses again. And it’s only May.Was it the White Sox fan who got into an, uh, war of words with Pete Crow-Armstrong who jinxed the North Siders?Or maybe it was the recent death of Sam Sianis of the famed Billy Goat Tavern?Sianis, 91, carried on his uncle Billy’s curse on the Cubs for a spell (pun intended) until relenting in 1984. And, of course, he celebrated when they won it all in 2016, goat in tow at the famous downtown bar. He passed away May 15, which was actually the last time the Cubs won a game … until Wednesday night when they mercifully ended a 10-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.Did ol’ Sam give the Cubs one for the road with his passing?In reality, it wasn’t a hexing fan or the ghost goat that was doing the Cubs in; it was one of the more rudimentary maledictions: lousy hitting. And it started before they lost 10 straight games.The Chicago pitching staff is in shambles because of injuries, but its offense was supposed to carry them, and for nearly two weeks, it was sinking the team instead. Simple as that.From May 9-26, the Cubs went 2-14 because, as a team, they slashed .180/.280/.272, scoring a paltry 40 runs. In that span, they struck out 145 times in 518 at-bats, while collecting just 93 hits. They were the worst offense in baseball, and they lost accordingly. The players were clearly bringing their hitting performances into the field as the vaunted defense suffered as well.During that skid, with runners in scoring position, the Cubs hit .124, scoring a meager 26 runs. They had 121 at-bats with RISP (17th in baseball over that period), and they got just 15 hits (tied for last). They also had only one sacrifice fly.It was laughable. It was worthy of a city’s scorn. The Cubs (30-26) went from having a 3 1/2-game lead in the division to a 4 1/2 game-deficit. The Milwaukee Brewers swept the Cubs at Wrigley Field and are once again looking down at their wealthier, less-successful neighbors.It’s not even June, and people are writing off the Cubs’ chances at the division — with good reason.The Cubs play one more in Pittsburgh on Thursday, facing Pirates ace and Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes. After that, they head to St. Louis for a weekend series against a feisty Cardinals team. The schedule lightens up after that.